Malloy: Klan Is Not Welcome In Connecticut
MILFORD, Conn. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy on Wednesday told Ku Klux Klan members who left fliers in Milford this week that they are not welcome in the state.
Appearing at Milford City Hall with local officials and civil rights activists on Wednesday, Malloy said "no one in their right mind" is asking klan members to be in Milford.
The leader of the United Klans of America – once one of the largest KKK groups in the country -- said the fliers were to deter criminals who have been breaking into cars.
Bradley Jenkins, imperial wizard of the Alabama-based group that is affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan, said Tuesday that members of the group are worried about safety in Milford.
The Connecticut Post reported the fliers were found on driveways and lawns along Wheelers Farms Road, Herbert Street, and Coram Lane.
The handouts have large text below the UKA logo saying "NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH" with a message below that reads "Sleep well knowing the UKA is awake."
"Anytime we hear of any type of activity or people conducting themselves under those symbolic hatred organizations, we have very much concern," state NAACP president Scot X. Esdaile told the Connecticut Post Tuesday. "A lot of people have been killed, murdered. A lot of families have been destroyed over the years in the North and in the South."
The group denied it is a hate organization.
"We don't condone any sort of violence," Eric Krieger, "imperial kleeper" of the UKA, told the Post.
But there was little doubt in the mind of 89-year-old handout recipient Chet Ignatowski of Milford.
"I looked at it and I said 'What the hell? That piece of junk.' That's what I said," Ignatowski told WCBS 880's Paul Murnane Tuesday.
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